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Firefox 19 gets a PDF viewer and a couple of bug fixes

The Android version of the browser also works on more phones.

On Tuesday, Mozilla announced the release of its Firefox 19 browser. The update is somewhat modest on new features, but it does include a built-in PDF viewer, which will eliminate the need for third-party plugins (unless you’d prefer said plugins for aesthetic reasons or for some additional functionality). The PDF viewer incorporated in the browser uses PDF.js, a JavaScript library that converts PDF files into HTML5. Users only need to upgrade their Firefox browser and open a PDF to take advantage of it.

Mozilla also fixed two bugs that slowed Firefox’s launch time. Now, when the user clicks the Firefox icon, it should result in a box immediately, rather than forcing the user to wait for the page to load—and click again and again as the user sees nothing, only to have eight pages open a minute later.

Other improvements are largely for developers, including changes to the debugger, and support for CSS features like @page and full-width text-transform.

According to TechCrunch, Mozilla also released an update to its Firefox for Android browser, lowering the minimum CPU requirements to 600MHz. Now, Firefox will “run on over 15 million devices, including the LG Optimus One, T-Mobile myTouch 3G slide, HTC Wildfire S and ZTE R750.”